EMS looked at 3 or 4 individuals however none required any further medical aid and left the scene accordingly. No one required transport to the hospital. Heavy FDNY response due to the fact that the involved building is considered a High Rise.

From RIOC Advisory:

Due to an earlier smoke condition which began from an electrical outlet on the third floor of River cross, Main Street Traffic was temporarily delayed. there were several persons attended to by EMS all of which refused medical attention. All Emergency Fire Apparatuses have left the Island allowing traffic on Main Street to resume to normal.

Please be advised that the TD 5 Boro Bike Tour will be taking place on Sunday, May 4th 2014. Vernon Blvd. will be closed from 8:30 AM until 1:00 PM between Astoria Park and the Pulaski Bridge. Access to Roosevelt Island via the R.I. Bridge will be maintained at all times; expect increased traffic and delays.

For more information on road closures and transit options, please see the attached document from the event's organizers.

RI Committee Chair Larry Parnes began the meeting noting that after the presentation, the committee would decide whether or not to make any recommendation to the full CB 8 Board at its Land Use Committee meeting on May 14 and then after full CB Board recommendation the design will be reviewed by the NYC Public Design Commission.

There will be 356 units with up to 500 students, faculty and staff in this 26 story, 285 foot tall residential building. Here is the Cornell NYC Tech Residential Building presentation by Cornell NYC Tech Assistant Director of Government and Community Relations Jane Swanson and Blake Middleton of Handel Architects, representing The Hudson Companies, developers of the residential campus building (also the developers of Southtown).

Following the presentation there were questions from the audience. When it was my turn, I asked about transportation, garbage pick up and more. According to Ms. Swanson and Hudson Companies David Kramer, there would be no adverse impact on Roosevelt Island subway, tram and parking from the Cornell NYC Tech residential building.

Following the question and answer period the CB 8 RI Committee discussed whether they should make any recommendation to the full Community Board on the design of the Cornell NYC Tech residential building. A motion was made to approve the design with a modification to include a sidewalk curb cup for garbage pick ups. After some discussion and a straw vote, it appeared that the Committee would not approve the motion with 2 members approving (Mr. Parness and Ms. Polivy), 2 members disapproving (Ms. Berdy and Ms. Buck) and one member abstaining (Mr. Escobar).

Ms Berdy and Ms. Buck objected to the height of the building which they saw as creating a wall between the campus and the rest of the community. (The building height was approved during NYC ULURP process). Mr. Escobar indicated in the straw vote that he was abstaining because he thought it important that the views of Ms. Berdy and Ms. Buck be presented to the full Community Board.

After much discussion among the Committee Members and with the Cornell representatives, Mr. Escobar voted to approve the motion with the condition added that the views of Ms Berdy and Ms. Buck be included in the minutes for the full CB 8 Board Members to review.

The city is an ever changing place. NY will continue to grow. It is the nature of cities to do that. Successful cities. If this city, New York, stops growing, forget it, we're all in big trouble. The question is how do you plan, how do you do make it work in a way that is congruent with neighborhood needs as well as what the city and all who live and work here need...

April 25 - May 9 Look Ahead
Work continues in multiple buildings across the site. Interior demolition is finished in buildings C, D, F, and H. Interior abatement is nearing completion in buildings C and H. Buildings on the southern half of the site are currently being prepped in anticipation of work that will start as buildings in the north reach completion. Barging will take place the week of April 28th to remove demolition debris.

The art conservation firms have made significant process with the three WPA era murals. The Ilya Bolotowsky mural canvas has successfully been separated from the wall. Removal of the Albert Swinden and Joseph Rugolo murals is ongoing and will be complete in early May. After leaving Goldwater, the murals will travel to conservation studios where restoration will begin.

The U.S. Geological Survey is in the process of taking final geothermal readings. Once complete, the data will determine the viability of a geothermal well field and ultimately guide the design.

Air quality monitoring data is available on the Cornell Tech construction website.

The Roosevelt Island Community Coalition (RICC) Board of Directors met last night (April 29) to report on their efforts to advocate quality of life issues on behalf of residents with Cornell NYC Tech, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC), elected officials and other decision makers as it pertains to the development of the new Cornell campus. Among the topics discussed at last night's RICC meeting was an overview by Christina Delfico and other RICC Directors of the April 28 meeting of the Roosevelt Island Cornell NYC Tech Construction Task Force.

Here's the overview by RICC of the April 28 Construction Task Force meeting.

Enter: Hellanic American Neighborhood Action Committee in order for you to get chosen for RIYP.

Please note it is a lottery system and you must enter the specific code/location (Hellanic American Neighborhood Action Committee) in order to be eligible to work at the Roosevelt Island Youth Program / Beacon site.;

Should you have any questions or need additional information, do not hesitate to call us at (212) 527-2505

Thank you for voting in participatory budgeting this cycle. You, together with your neighbors, determined how some of your own tax dollars will get spent. This was the first year our community did participatory budgeting, and the process gave me great confidence in the continued success of this program....

... PS 217, The Roosevelt Island School ($225,000): Technology update to further support the STEM programs that will be incorporated into the curriculum. Need of updated Active Boards, computers, laptops, smart devices including tablets, iPads, chrome books, and document cameras....

I am excited to see that we will receive the funds. This funding is awarded to schools as a RESO A grant. I will have meetings with integrators about the specific technology we plan to order. Once the order is placed, it is filled sometime in the summer/fall of 2015.

Resolution “A” (Reso “A”) projects are school specific capital improvement or enhancement projects that are funded through individual grants which are allocated by the Borough Presidents or members of the New York City Council. These projects are very important to the school community because they provide enhancements and upgrades to existing facilities. The most common Reso “A” projects are upgrades to a school’s technology, auditorium, playground, science Lab and other specialty classrooms. The SCA has also been able to utilize Reso “A” funding to complete some unique and innovative projects such as a Challenger Space Center, an Edible Schoolyard (farm), planetarium upgrade and Green roofs. The SCA is grateful to our elected officials for entrusting us with this capital funding that has led to numerous enhancements in schools throughout the City.

Roosevelt Island Community Coalition (RICC) Director Christina Delfico noted in response that while it is a great first start, PS/IS 217:

... wants more concrete information on what can be done and clarity. ... Good ideas are terrific but if there is no funding or assistance to help them in the execution... Good start but how can we execute knowing there are obstacles.

1. Keep front doors, patio doors and windows locked. If you have a patio, Burglar-proof your glass patio doors by setting a pipe or metal bar in the middle bottom track of the door slide. The pipe should be the same length as the track.

2. Have your key ready before you approach your apartment door. Don't leave extra keys under doormats, potted plants or any other obvious outdoor location. Burglars will generally find them. Find an inconspicuous place to hide the keys, or give a set to a neighbor you can trust

3. Store cash, jewelry and other valuables in a safe or safety deposit box instead of leaving them lying around the home.

4. Do not leave notes on the door for service people or family members when you are not there. These alert the burglar that you are not home.

5. Be sure to use a dead bolt lock on your doors.

6. Look through your door peep hole before answering the door.

7. Use the door chain when answering and before opening the door.

8. Be sure your apartment door is dead bolt locked before retiring for the night or leaving your apartment.

9. Do not open the door for strangers until you have established their identity and purpose.

10. If you cannot establish their identity, call the PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT at (212) 832- 4545. We are open 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

11. Report any suspicious persons loitering or soliciting to the PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT.

12. Be aware of your surroundings.

13. Lock your door immediately upon entering your apartment.

14. Be sure the entrance outside your apartment door is well lit.

15. If you feel unsafe during late hours, call the PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT and we will walk you to your residence.

Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12) today joined City Council Members Mark Levine and Benjamin Kallos to highlight their efforts to secure reparations from SNCF, the French rail company that transported 76,000 Jews and thousands of others to concentration camps during World War II, and to hold accountable any company that profited from the Holocaust.

Council Members Levine and Kallos will introduce a city council resolution that would call on the state legislature to pass legislation barring contracting with companies that profited from the Holocaust, but have never compensated victims. Maloney is working to pass the Holocaust Rail Justice Act in Congress, to give survivors their day in court by ending SNCF's ability to shield itself from litigation using the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

“SNCF has acknowledged its role in transporting victims, but has always refused to pay compensation for its actions, citing sovereign immunity,” Maloney said. “The government of France has paid compensation to survivors who returned to France or who live in 4 other countries with which France reached agreements: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Poland and the United Kingdom. But survivors who live in the United States have been denied their day in court and have never received a dime in compensation from SNCF or the French government. I will continue my work in Congress to make sure companies like SNCF pay reparations to Holocaust survivors, and will adamantly oppose any public contracts with companies like this. I commend Council Members Levine and Kallos for their resolution in support of barring companies like SNCF from receiving state money.”

“Our response to the Holocaust must not only be about remembering and mourning, but also about supporting the survivors still among us and seeking justice for their perpetrators. Preemptive action now by New York State would send a clear message that companies implicated in the horrors of the holocaust must pay restitution to their victims--or be disqualified from doing business with our State,” said Council Member Mark Levine.

“We are all survivors and must never forget. My family is among millions of others to lose our loved ones in the Holocaust. For those corporations that profited from those deaths but failed to make the families of victims whole, I say, 'we will never forget.' I call on my colleagues in government to tell these corporations that 'we will never forget,' and to stop doing business with the corporations until they finally remember!” said Council Member Ben Kallos.

The resolution from Council Members Levine and Kallos calls on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, legislation that would bar companies and their affiliates who profited from the Holocaust, but have not yet paid restitution, to receive government contracts.

Last year Maloney introduced the Holocaust Rail Justice Act with Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) to provide Holocaust survivors their day in court against SNCF. SNCF claims immunity from legal action due to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, yet the FSIA was passed 30 years after the action causing the harm for which the plaintiffs seek damages. The bill allows the plaintiffs to sue regardless of the strictures of the FSIA.

Earlier this year, Maloney and Ros-Lehtinen wrote to the Maryland Department of Transportation in opposition to a bid for the Purple Line rail project from Keolis North America, an SNCF subsidiary. The State Department is presently negotiating with the French government on the question of reparations.

During World War II, SNCF was paid per head, per kilometer to provide the trains, cars, and manpower necessary to deport approximately 76,000 Jews and thousands of other “undesirables” from France to Nazi death camps. Since the war, the company has refused to take responsibility for its actions or to provide any measure of justice or reparations to the surviving victims and families of those who perished.

The current President of SNCF told Voice Of America that the company was also a victim of the Nazis, not complicit in the actions of the Nazis, and noted that over 2100 employees were murdered by the Nazis.

This week, I finally had the chance to visit your island-twice! (I visited Sunday and Wednesday) and it just took my breath away.

Perhaps it is the Texan in me that appreciates wide open spaces and nature the island has to offer, but I was just completely blown away by the beauty of Roosevelt Island...from the blooming trees to the smallpox ruins and of course the FDR Four Freedoms monument (my husband said the monument is actually the thing he enjoyed most about the trip).

We had a goose who continually photobombed a bunch of skyline photos and I was able to take panoramic photos with the 1776, Chrysler, and Empire State Buildings in one shot. Those who state that the island lacks character truly makes me scratch my head...of course, I love nature and I have a deep appreciation for the minimalist style by which the island was designed.

I can see where living there can probably feel inconvenient at times but from what I saw, RI residents truly have the best of both worlds- living on a beautiful, quiet island with everything you'd ever want in the world literally a 3 minute tram ride away. If I ever came across the opportunity to move to NYC, after having literally walked all over that entire city and subwayed and cabbed pretty much the entire thing too, I'd definitely make RI my home.

What a beautiful island. I went twice because after we arrived Sunday I insisted that this be the first thing I do in NYC, but my mom didn't feel well so she took a nap and hubby and I went over. After that I told her I'd take her back and I did on Weds...we rode the red bus around the island and then walked down to Southpoint. She LOVED it. We fell in love with your little slice of NYC. :-)

Come back whenever you wish Marlo - Glad you had a good time and thank you for reminding us how good we have it.

The Roosevelt Island Resident's Association (RIRA) invites you to their first Informational Seminar.

According to RIRA's Housing Committee Chair Susan Marcus:

Are you over-extended and do not have the time to clean and organize your home the way you would like?

Roosevelt Island Residents Association, through the sponsorship of the Housing Committee, will be offering a series of Informational Seminars to make your apartment living carefree, safe and habitable. The first seminar will tackle the problem of keeping your apartment clean and organized with the least amount of effort.

Our neighbor and founder of The Best Home Services, rated number 1 on Angie’s List for Cleaning Services, Mary Cavanaugh, will be giving us “Quick Tricks for Organizing and Cleaning Your Home” on Tuesday April 29, 2014 at the Westview Community Room from 7:00-8:30pm. Spend this time with us and you will be spending less time maintaining your apartment. All are welcome and the Housing Committee looks forward to seeing you at this very worthwhile event.

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WELCOME TO ROOSEVELT ISLAND

Welcome to the Roosevelt Islander Online!

Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.

The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.